My first 125 reef tank... It scares me!

This will be my first reef tank. its huge for me but i have had 55'S for so long that theyre boring! I am running a 55 gallon sump in the basement and cant decide if i should drill this tank!? i sure as hell dont want to break it and the area i live in (Spirit Lake IA) doesnt have any options for companies to do the job. Should i do a HOB overflow? any success with these? My other huge problem is lighting! Since its my first tank i want to be able to experience growing all types of coral. What is a good lighting choice for a tank like this with two braces? one large 72 inch t5 / mh system or maybe 3 matching 24 inch! i like the blue night leds as well. I ve seen many systems out there but as many of us i cant afford to throw 900 into only lighting... not that i dont want to lol. Suggestions?

 

I have a can on it now and when I do decide what to do I'll still run it for extra support. I do agree with MH's and maybe led strips for night!

 

I just like the look lol. My 55 had the marineland night leds and it was cool to have shine in. I'm sure they have no value toward reef keeping whatsoever!

 

I like the led idea. Haven't heard if ppl really see growth with them tho. All the stories of great growth were held under MH lighting. But I don't want the heat problem either. If drilling isn't too hard then I'll go for it!! Let the bit do the work right lol.

 

Sweet! What type of led brand did you say to look at? Is there a specific company that's best?

 

That's a little more work than I'm up for I think lol. It's one thing to move leds around but I'd need two 72inch ballasts and it would be close to 1600 for everything I would need.

 

I'd still have to buy dimmers and the power supplies and the leds right? Didn't say it came with any of that and doesn't say it can handle a 20 inch wide tank with just one on each section. I might have missed it but I read quite a bit

 

I'll have to buy one and check it out roads!

 

I have spent countless hours now studying leds and all different companies that sell and design these products. Unfortunately, i can say that makersled is one of the most expensive costing close to $900 for three fully controllable units with an overall number of leds ranging between 78 - 82. If anyone is looking for a cheaper solution with better controllers and waaaaay morer controllability, i would look into rapidled.com!! instead of dimmer switches they sell controllers for $49 that work with up to 9 drivers seperately and even has a built in current control so there is never a worry of current damage to the led interface. The drivers that makers like to use are nice, but they say i need five for my installation and i have actually found ones of better quality that have a longer lifespan and 25% cheaper. Makersled have created a very easy product and a nice look, however, anyone looking to get into the led DIY i must reccomend rapidled.com for many reasons. i found that if your willing to put the extra design work and effort into it the project becomes significantly cheaper. I have lowered the cost of this project down to $730 with digital controller/timer/dusk-dawn setting all in one and less drivers. I thank xroads for getting me so interested in the LED world and if all goes well i will make a video of the build for this led system!!